C G C
Riding on the City of New Orleans,
Am F C G
Illinois Central Monday morning rail
C G Am
There's fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders,
F G C
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail.
Am Em
They're out on the southbound odyssey and the train pulls out at Kankakee
G D
Rolls past the houses, farms and fields.
Am Em
Passin' towns that have no names, and freight yards full of old black men
G G7 C C7
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles
F G C
Singing Good morning America how are you?
Am F C G
And don't you know me I'm your native son
C G C Am
I'm just the train they call The City of New Orleans,
Bb F C G
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
C G C
I was dealin' cards with the old men in the club car.
Am F C G
And it's penny a point there ain't nobody keepin' score.
C G Am
Won't you pass that paper bag that holds the tequila
F G C
You can feel the wheels rumblin' beneath the floor.
Am Em
The sons of pullman porters and the sons of engineers
G D
All ride their daddy's magic carpet - it's made of steel.
Am Em
Mothers with their babes asleep, go rockin' to the gentle beat
G G7 C C7
And the rhythm of the rails is all they dream.
F G C
Singing Good morning America how are you?
Am F C G
And don't you know me I'm your native son
C G C Am
I'm just the train they call The City of New Orleans,
Bb F C G
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
C G C
It's night-time on The City of New Orleans,
Am F C G
And we're changing cars in Memphis, Tennes--see.
C G Am
Half way home, we'll be there by morning
F G C
Through the Mississippi darkness rolling to the sea.
Am Em
All the towns and people seem to fade into a bad dream
G D
And the old steel rails still ain't heard the news.
Am Em
The con--ductor sings that song again, the passengers will please refrain
G G7 C C7
This train has got the disappearing railroad blues.
F G C
Singing Good night America how are you?
Am F C G
And don't you know me I'm your native son
C G C Am
I'm just the train they call The City of New Orleans,
Bb F C G
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
F G C
Singing Good morning America how are you?
Am F C G
And don't you know me I'm your native son
C G C Am
I'm just the train they call The City of New Orleans,
Bb F C G
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done.
F G C
